Carnevale Emerges for Pittsfield in Decisive Victory
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — After a win over Monument Mountain on December 29, Pittsfield head coach Jo Racicot acknowledged that he wasn’t entirely pleased with the balance of his team’s play. He needed some of the less productive players on his roster to step up.On Friday, Racicot found that in freshman Lauren Carnevale, whose 16 points, seven rebound and four blocks were the type of dominant effort indicative of the Generals’ overall performance in a 60-23 drubbing of Taconic at the Moynihan Fieldhouse.
“Lauren was a sparkplug. She was in the right place at the right time. She worked hard to get into open spots to get some shots,” Racicot said.
Carnevale, who has averaged three points and 2.5 rebounds in nine games this season, was as aggressive as a pitbull on both sides of the ball. When asked what made her play so confidently, she simply said that she had a good game.
“Some girls told me that I need to step up my game, so that’s what I did. This game showed me how good I could be if I play as hard as I did tonight,” Carnevale said.
A seven-point advantage swelled to 19, with three minutes, 10 seconds left in the first half, during a 15-3 run in which Carnevale scored six points. Following that burst, she converted on another layup and made a ferocious blocked shot which led to a fast break basket and a 35-13 halftime lead.
In the last five games since playing the Mounties, Dominique Satrape, who left the game in the third quarter with a knee injury, has joined Jill Ritrosky and Courtney McLaughlin as the top offensive threats for the Generals. But in that span, Racicot has seen many different players enjoy big games.
In an upset win over Northampton on December 30, Saige Conyers, who did not play against the Braves due to medical reasons, scored a game-high 14 points. In Pittsfield’s next outing, a rallying win over Wahconah, senior Abby Hunt tallied 14 points and pulled down 13 rebounds. Most recently, Meghan Face handled the pressure against a difficult Drury team, hitting four three-point shots en rout to a team-high 14-point effort in a one-point win on January 9.
“This is what the coaching staff envisioned. If we could get [players] to step up once or twice or three or four times a season, have them all get hot at the right times [it is] a big plus,” Racicot said of his team’s depth. “[Carnevale] bumps heads with our three bigs all the time and makes them work every day. She’s getting better for it. This is a nice reward for [her] and it’s truly a reward from hard work.”
Carnevale noted that the assurance she has in her teammates and the fact that she does not have to be the first option on offense has made her feel more at ease in her role on the court.
“It makes me less nervous that there are other girls who can do just as good or even better. And that, if I'm having a bad day, they'll help me out,” Carnevale said.
Pittsfield maintained its nagging defensive pressure in the second half, causing turnovers which led to transition baskets to help take a 51-20 lead into the final quarter.
The Generals play next at Lenox on Thursday at 7pm.